Official launch of the iCARE Thunder Bay Initiative

#LSN_Outdoors

THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO September 3, 2018 (LSN) I would like to bring to your attention the official launch of the iCARE Thunder Bay Initiative. This is a city-wide initiative to help move the City of Thunder Bay forward; by encouraging all residents in the community to show their true heart for the city.

Recently, it has come to my attention that the two Chippewa Park Polar Bear concrete sculptures were deteriorating very badly; so I took it upon myself to restore this iconic and long standing artwork here in Thunder Bay. With solely the use of my own funds, I have professionally restored the crumbling Polar Bears, bringing them back to life for the residents of Thunder Bay to enjoy, once again.

Doing my part and leading by example, I have organized a team of dedicated and skilled volunteers to come out and help me restore the ‘Chippewa Park Wild Life Exhibit Polar Bears’ which stand at the entrance to the park. These beautiful White Polar Bear sculptures were presented to the City of Thunder Bay in 1983 by an extremely talented artist and sculptor, Zbigniew Gajda. Handcrafted over 35 years ago, tens of thousands of local residents and tourists alike have stopped by and taken photos of their kids or themselves; with these art pieces.

The project took three days to complete : Day 1, started by paint being scrapped off the polar bears, then came a special hydraulic cement parg-mix that is designed to withstand the harsh climate which was used to repair the missing concrete that had fallen off the polar bears. The concrete was then mixed with and applied in conjunction with a concrete glue. Once everything was set, it was allowed to dry for 72hours. Day 2 consisted of painting the polar bears with a exterior primer sealer(which was tinted to the same colour as the final coat of paint) and then letting it dry in the nice warm sun to cure. Day 3 was the final day that consisted of a thorough application of a high end CIL exterior all-weather semi-gloss paint.

All in all, over the 3 days of work, we had about 2 dozen cars pull in and ask us about our project and what is happening to the wild life exhibit and why it is closed and if it would open again. These are all good questions for the city, perhaps if the city placed a sign to update the public , which could have been left in the entrance to the parking lot as after all, the parking entrance had been left open and many people thought there "Zoo" was still open. This lack of updated signage had and is currently confusing the people who drive in there.

Over all, this project was very rewarding and "fun" for all the volunteers involved. The volunteers were C. Perrin, James, Alodie Mergulhao and myself Adam Gulbinowicz.

From this day forward, I would like to encourage everyone in Thunder Bay to show their giant heart and help chip in to make our city, the City of Thunder Bay a better place! The challenge would be to also take some "before and after photos" of a project you have undertaken and post it on social media. I feel that we can, together make Thunder Bay a special place we all call home; remember: "Teamwork makes the dream work!" Together we can make the change!

Looking Good!

Please feel free to "LIKE", “FOLLOW” and "SHARE" our group and we invite everyone to submit their "iCARE" contributions, for it to be posted as an inspiration for others to follow!